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Posts from the ‘Michelle’s Kitchen Recipes’ Category

Sep 28

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Lazy Birthday Cheesecake

Whew! What a blur the past month has been.  But It’s official, I submitted my dietetic internship (DI) applications.  In order to become a Registered Dietitian, one must first complete an internship. I feel relieved to have the applications submitted, but so nervous at the same time! Now it’s just a waiting game until November 6th (match day).  Until then, I’ll be studying my time away for the Dietetic Technician, Registered exam and researching graduate school options (girls gotta have a back up plan, right?).  

Well, in other (less stressful) news, today is my birthday! I seriously can’t believe I’m 26.  I know, I know, it’s still young, but I’m officially in my “late-twenties” and the way time is flying lately, 30 will be here before I know it.  Somehow I managed to get the day off of work;  I can’t remember the last time that happened!  So to celebrate, I’m taking it easy: lounging in my PJ’s and drinking coffee, casually reading the news instead of listening to NPR during my 45 min. commute, and waiting for Jacob to wake up.  I’m hoping we will go check out this sandwich/cheese shop in Merchant Square for lunch (I’ve heard good things!).

I’ve requested homemade cheesecake for tonight.  I’m not too interested in regular birthday cake and frosting. If I’m going to splurge, it’s gotta be worth it… and cheesecake is totally worth it!  Do you have a favorite birthday splurge? I’d love to hear about it!

I’m going to go ahead and share the cheesecake recipe with you, but we haven’t actually made it yet.  But don’t worry, it’s tried and true! My mom makes this almost every year for Christmas and it’s a super simple recipe.  No crazy fancy ingredients here.  Perfect for a lazy birthday.

Lazy Birthday Cheesecake, makes 2 cheesecakes

Ingredients
2, 8oz packages cream cheese, softened
1, 14oz can sweetened condensed milk
3 eggs
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 homemade graham cracker crusts or store-bought
Optional: chocolate chips

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 300* F.  In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy.  Add sweetened condensed milk and beat until smooth.  Add eggs and lemon juice, mix well. Pour into pie crust and sprinkle with chocolate chips if desired. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.  Cool to room temperature and then refrigerate.

Coming Soon: Fall recipes featuring squash!

Last Year: Birthday Treat: Apple-Cinnamon Muffins

Aug 8

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Chilled Corn Soup with Roasted Red Peppers

I’ve spent the last week recovering from traveling.  Yes, it takes me a full week.  Thursday July 28th I flew home to Michigan for 4 days to visit with friends and family and attend my cousins wedding reception.  It was a great trip.

On Friday I met up with a good college friend in Lansing.  For lunch we stopped at a yummy seafood restaurant followed by dessert at the Michigan State University dairy store.  Seriously, best ice cream ever.  Mine had chocolate covered graham cracker pieces and marshmallows! Megan’s had swirls of blue frosting! So worth the long line.

On Saturday, I still managed to still get in my routine.  I got up early for a run, then stopped at Husted’s Market with my dad for some peaches and blueberries.

Later that evening, I caught up with extended family at the reception.  It was a great time with great food! Congrats Scott and Felicia!

The happy couple!

With Mom - eating our vegetables!

Cousins catching up - talking corn soup, nutrition, and med-school

Knowing my love for food, my cousin Jeff (above, who also worked out at Husted’s Market) shared with me a recipe for cold corn soup he’d recently made.  It’s a cold, creamy, and refreshing version with yogurt, mint, and cucumber.  I’ve craved soup lately (weird) so I knew I’d be making this.

After taking my week to recover, this Saturday I made sure to pick up all the ingredients.  Only thing is,  I was really craving roasted red peppers.  I don’t know why.  I’ve never even made them before.  Turn’s out,  they are really easy and really good in chilled corn soup.

Step One: Roasted Red Peppers

Ingredients: 2 medium red bell peppers

1. Pre-heat oven to 450* F
2. Wash and dry peppers, place on baking sheet lined with tin foil
3. Roast on middle rack in oven for about 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes or so.  The peppers will start to char.
4.  When done, immediately place in a closed brown paper bag, to help loosen the skin, for about 5 minutes.
5. Remove skin and seeds.  I just used my hands.  Don’t rinse, we want to keep that flavor!

Step Two: Blanched Corn

Ingredients: 5 ears of corn, husked; salt

1. While the peppers roast, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
2. While waiting, husk the corn, leaving a handle at the end.  I like to also cut off the tip so that it stand nicely (see picture above).
3.  Once the water is boiling, cook the corn for 5-7 minutes.
4. Optional: While cooking, prepare an ice bath (water + ice) in a large bowl.  Cool the cooked cobs here for easier handling. This also stops the cooking process.
5. Cut the corn off the cob, set aside.
6. Set aside 3 cups of the corn water

Step Three: Make Soup

Ingredients:
6 small shallots roughly chopped
1 Tbs. butter
Corn
Roasted red peppers roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 cups Corn Water
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup milk
Cilantro, chopped

1. Rinse and dry large pot used to cook corn.  Heat butter over medium heat.
2. Sauté shallots until translucent.
3.  Add corn, roasted red pepper, and spices to pot. Cook for about 3 minutes.
4.  Add 2 cups corn water, chicken broth and milk.  Simmer gently for about 15 minutes.
5. Transfer to food processor, or blender and puree.  Add corn water as needed to reach desired texture.
6. Chill in refrigerator for several hours.
7. When ready to serve, stir in chopped cilantro. Enjoy!

QUESTION: Are you doing any traveling this summer?  How do you eat healthy while away from home?

Jul 10

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Blackberry Spinach Salad with Lemon Thyme Chicken & Blackberry Vinaigrette

For three weeks now, I’ve been crazy over local blackberries! They are so tasty on their own, I rarely have enough left to make something fun! So, this week I bought two pints instead of one.  Oh the possibilities!  Fruit crisp, muffins, pie… oh my!

I love summer berries as dessert, but I actually prefer to keep it simple.  Think smoothies, berries + yogurt + drizzle of honey = YUM!  I want the star of the show to be fresh fruit.  I also picked up some first of the season peaches at the market this week, so I certainly see smoothies in my near future! This weekend though, these HUGE blackberries went into a main entrée summer salad.

Step One: Lemon Thyme Chicken
If you are in a hurry and already have leftover chicken on hand, use it! But I really love my lemon thyme herb pot; I think it has a nice light summer flavor.

Season chicken breasts to taste with the following:

Salt and Freshly ground pepper
Paprika (for color!)
Fresh Lemon Thyme
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used 1/2 a lemon for 3 breasts)

Bake at 325* F until juices run clear.  I would have loved to grill these, but, we haven’t invested in a grill yet.  If you try it be sure to let me know how it is!  I actually over cooked our chicken a little because I forgot about it.  Set a timer if you need to.

Step Two: Blackberry Vinaigrette

Okay, so this step is a bit messy, and not for those of you in a hurry.  But – it sure was worth it!

Ingredients: (these are estimates, I didn’t actually measure anything, so go by taste!)

1 Pint Blackberries
1/4 cup red onion
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar ( I also used Pear infused Vinegar)
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

  1. Using a food processor, puree pint of blackberries.
  2. Here’s where it gets messy, using a mesh sieve (or piece of nylon) strain the blackberry juice from the pulp and seeds.  Take your time and wear an apron.  Set juice aside.
  3. Rinse out food processor.  Pulse red onions garlic, honey and vinegar.  Add blackberry juice and olive oil, process.
  4. Transfer to serving container.  A jelly jar works fine.
Step Three: Assemble
Here is where it all comes together.  The flavor combination is salty, fresh, sweet, and bright.  The texture is crunchy from walnuts, creamy from feta, and juicy from blackberries.
Ingredients:
Organic Baby Spinach
Sliced Lemon Thyme Chicken
Toasted Walnuts
Crumbled Feta Cheese
Fresh Blackberries
Blackberry Vinaigrette
QUESTION: How do you include fresh berries into your summer meals?

Jun 18

Pan Seared Mahi-Mahi Fish Tacos with Jicama Slaw and Cilantro Sauce

I’ve blabbed on about my Saturday morning routine before.  However, here’s what I’ve left out: after I get home from the farmer’s market, Jake and I sit down and plan meals for the week.  It usually looks a little something like this….

  • Saturday: Sandwiches with fresh fruit
  • Sunday: Chicken + starch + veggie
  • Monday: Leftover chicken – usually with hummus and veggies in a wrap
  • Tuesday: Some kind of vegetarian/farmer’s market inspired dish
  • Wednesday: Eggs (scrambled, fried, omelets, etc.)
  • Thursday: Something with ground turkey… usually turkey burgers or turkey tacos
  • Friday: Something with leftover turkey… sometimes spaghetti

I’ve tried menu planning in the past but have always gotten frustrated.  Jake and I eat very differently.  We’ve been doing the menu planning thing together for about a month now.  This basic format seems to work well, and we are both pretty happy.  I save the too many “weird” ingredients, “Michelle only” dishes for my lunches.  Still, I like some variety in my diet, so I’ve got a little bored with our dinners.  Enter: Fish Taco’s.

I’m so excited that we tried these! I’ve heard of fish taco’s before, but I was always a little put off by the idea.  Once I started checking out different recipes though, I started getting inspired.  The best part: Jake likes them too!! I think these would make a great Father’s Day Dinner.

Step One: Cilantro Yogurt Sauce 

I knew I wanted Cilantro in this dish, but it wasn’t until I actually started putting ingredients together that I knew how to include it.  Using greek yogurt gives a sour cream like feel, but somehow seems lighter.  Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap or lid, set aside in the refrigerator. Time to prepare: 5 minutes.

Ingredients
1 container FAGE Greek Yogurt (0% or 2%)
1 bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
1 garlic glove, smashed into a paste
Juice from 1 lime (lemon works too)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

Step Two: Jicama Slaw

If you have never had Jicama before, this is the dish to try it in! It is crispy, juicy, and sweet. Texture wise, it reminds me a little of an apple or potato.  I found Jicama at my grocery store near the fresh herbs, and organic veggies.  Chop up all the ingredients and mix them with the lime juice, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups jicama, peeled and small diced
1/3 cup red bell pepper
1/3 cup orange bell pepper
1/3 cup green bell pepper
1/4 cup red onion
1/4 cup corn (frozen, defrosted works fine!)
juice from 1 fresh lime
salt and pepper to taste

Step Three: Pan Seared Mahi-Mahi

You really have several fish options: tilapia, halibut, cod.  They all work, I just prefer Mahi-Mahi and can find it fresh at my grocery store.  I wasn’t too sure how I wanted to season the fish, so I went rummaging through my spice collection when I found this: Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime.  Perfect!!  If you don’t have Mrs. Dash, try a mix of these spices: Cumin, Sweet Chili Pepper, Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Black Pepper, Oregano, Basil, Bay, Marjoram, Thyme, Savory Coriander, Mustard, Rosemary, Garlic, Onion, and some of the rind from a lime.

Drizzle the olive oil over the fish, sprinkle with spices, massage in.  Heat your pan over medium heat, spray so the fish won’t stick.  Pan sear until fish is flaky.  Careful not to over cook.

Ingredients
Mahi-Mahi or other white fleshed fish
Mrs. Dash Fiesta Lime or similar seasonings
Olive Oil
Splash of lime juice (optional)

Step Four: Add Avocado, Corn Tortillas, Eat up!!

These were so yummy (and we were so hungry!) that I didn’t get any pics!  I’ll be making these again and again no doubt, so I’ll be sure to update this post!

Happy Fathers Day!

Last Year: Father’s Day Strawberry Shortcake

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